Crazy Neighbors
by waiting.for.summer
Summary: Greg answers the door, and although he doesn't know the visitor, he's not surprised she's there. You don't always know what goes on behind closed doors. Is this reality, or AU? Well, I suppose, it depends on how much we individually fantasize.


AN: Don't own 'em, just love 'em.

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Greg heard the doorbell and put down the spoon he was using to stir the vegetables on the stove. He gave the baby in the highchair a kiss on the head as he passed, "Be right back, sweetie." He maneuvered himself around the toys scattered on the floor and reached his destination just as the knock was repeated.

As he opened the door he took in the face of a young woman dressed in a rumpled suit holding a clipboard and looking a little nervous. "Hi, can I help you?" he asked.

The young woman raised nervous eyes to his and said, "Jean Brooks, Department of Children and Family Services. I'm afraid we've had a phone call alleging abuse. Could I please come in?"

Greg nodded his head and allowed the newcomer to enter the room before closing the door behind her. "Can we talk in the kitchen?"

She nodded and Greg led the way. As he passed a hallway he called down, "Lunch in five, kids."

Jean heard a young voice call back, "Okay, we'll get ready." The social worker continued to follow the tall man into the kitchen, looking at her surroundings as she passed, noticing a well kept home slightly littered with toys.

Upon entering the kitchen, Greg pointed to a seat at the end of the table. "If you give me five minutes to get the kids started we can talk without interruption. Is that fine?" He watched her nod and then turned to give the pots on top of the stove a stir before opening a cupboard door and pulling out some plates and glasses, then he moved to the refrigerator.

She turned her attention to the toddler sitting in the high chair. The little girl had a pink bow holding up a topknot that only held about half of her fine, dark hair. Her face was covered in a pale, mushy substance that Jean determined to be banana by the remnants on the tray.

"Hayden couldn't wait for lunch, so I started her with the banana," Greg said to Jean as he brought two small cups of milk to the table.

"She's adorable." Jean took in the dark eyes and hair.

"Yeah, she looks like Nicky. Couldn't help but be gorgeous, could you sweetie." He reached over to give her cheek a little pat and was rewarded by a loud raspberry in payment.

Jean found herself smiling at the couple in front of her when two children entered the room. She looked over to see a small blond girl of about six and a younger dark-haired boy who might be a young three walk over to the table.

"We washed our hands." The little girl said as she crawled into her chair. She looked at Jean and then back to Greg. "I didn't know we had company, Daddy."

Greg lifted the small boy into his booster seat and brought two plates over to the table for the children. He ruffled his daughter's hair and said matter of factly. "This is Ms. Brooks from DCFS. She had a phone call, honey." He moved back to the counter to bring a plate for Hayden.

"Oh, that's okay." She turned to Jean and asked, "Where's Nana Phyllis?"

Jean looked at Greg with questioning eyes as he sat down and began feeding Hayden her green beans, potatoes, and baked chicken. He just shrugged at her and asked the question himself, "Isn't Phyllis working today?"

The social worker looked around the table at all the faces staring at her. The little boy just smiled and said, "Nana Phyllis likes to play toys."

Jean looked confused and answered, "Mrs. Jones is on vacation. I'm covering for her. I didn't know this was an ongoing investigation."

Greg smiled at her and started to explain. "Phyllis gets calls to come here at least twice a month. She's learned to come around close to lunch time and we make sure she gets a hot meal, don't we kids?" They all nodded. "Are you hungry, Jean?"

"No thank you, Mr. Sanders. I have lunch plans after this visit."

Greg acknowledged her response and then corrected her. "It's Sanders-Stokes. Nick and I were married in Canada, and even though it's not recognized here, we did have our last names legally changed. It's Sanders-Stokes. It should all be in Phyllis' file."

Jean sat a little straighter in her chair. "I haven't had a chance to pull any files. I'm sorry. The caller made it sound as if it was an emergency situation, so I rushed right over. I apologize for not taking the time to get any background information."

"That's okay, Jean. I work for the LVPD crime unit. I know how important a crime scene can be. Are you sure I can't get you something to drink?"

When she murmured, maybe a water, he rose and turned to the refrigerator, and she took a moment to look at the three healthy children eating their lunches without complaint. Hayden had finished her meal and was playing in the mess left on her tray.

As Greg set the water in front of her, she looked at him and said, "So Mrs. Jones gets called here a lot?"

"Yeah, there are some people in this neighborhood who still have a problem with the fact that Nicky and I are together. Add children to the mix and a couple of those fine neighbors have your office on speed dial. Phyllis has always made it a point to take any calls to our house personally. She's been here so much the kids just adopted her."

"You have got to be kidding me, Mr. Sanders-Stokes."

He shook his head and smiled, "Call me Greg. If Phyllis is gone for awhile we need to be on a first name basis. I could go wake up Nicky if you need to talk to him. He works the graveyard shift and is sleeping right now, but if it's necessary…"

Jean shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary, Greg."

At that point Hayden started squirming in her high chair. "Hayden needs to try the potty, Daddy," the little blond girl announced.

"Good call, Marie. Can you and Jack keep Ms. Brooks company while I take Hayden to the bathroom?"

"No problem, Daddy. We can do that, Jack, can't we?" she turned to her younger brother and he nodded.

Greg smiled at Jean. "I'll be back in a few minutes, sorry."

She waved him away. "I'll just sit here and make small talk with Marie and Jack. Take care of Hayden."

The brown-eyed man quickly wiped the small mouth and hands before lifting the fussy child in his arms and exiting the room.

Jean looked across the table at the small faces peering at her and Marie piped up, "Do you want to see our book?"

"What book, honey?"

"Our family book. It's Jack's and my favorite one. Daddy Nick likes to snuggle with us and look at it. It makes him smile."

Jean gave Marie a grin. "Well if you think it's okay with your daddies, then I'd love to see it."

Marie looked at her brother. "I'll be right back, Jack. Finish those beans. You know if we both clean our plates then Daddy Greg will give us a cookie for dessert." She scooted off her chair and disappeared into the next room, returning a minute later with a large photo album. She handed it to Jean and then pulled her chair closer to the social worker as the woman opened the cover.

The first page was filled with group photos. Jean could see Greg in the photos, but he was the only one she recognized. Marie leaned in and pointed to a dark-haired man. "That's Daddy Nick. This was before my daddies realized they loved each other. They worked the same shift with Uncle Gris and Aunt Catherine and Aunt Sara." She pointed to some of the other people in the photographs.

Jean turned the page and saw group photographs of the same people, but in these pictures she could see the two men standing closer together and sharing smiles between themselves and not for the photographer. "This is my favorite page," announced Marie. "It's when they realized they loved each other." She reached a small finger out to trace each of their faces.

"Here's when they got married." Marie turned the page and proudly displayed a photograph of the two men standing close together, arms around each other, foreheads touching. "I think this one's kind of silly. What do you think, Ms. Brooks?"

Jean swallowed slowly. "I think it's a beautiful picture, honey. I can tell your daddies are really in love." She turned the page to see a photograph of the same two men holding an infant in a pink blanket.

"That's me," said Marie, "and that's….." She continued turning the pages and pointing out pictures of her family taken during the important moments of their lives.

When they reached the end, Jean closed the book reverently and looked the small girl in the eyes. "So you're happy here and everything is good?"

"Oh yeah, Ms. Brooks. You don't have to worry about anything in our family, but it's okay if you want to come back to visit, even if you don't get a phone call from the crazies down the street." The little girl turned to look at her brother who had finally finished his lunch. "You cleaned your plate, Jack. Score! Daddy Greg made chocolate chip cookies yesterday."

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AN:

Okay, I know I should be working on an uncompleted story and I did stay up late last night working on chapters 3 and 4 for School Daze. I just want to space out the postings for it a little!

My plot bunny woke me up this morning by bashing me on the head. It was a rough week at work and I needed a positive ending to an encounter with DCFS. Hope you enjoyed this. It made me feel better. ;0)


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